Walking and Trekking in the Gran Paradiso. Gillian Price
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This traverses the southern side of the Valle d'Aosta over a sequence of forbidding crests and dizzy cols, connecting little-known Chardonney with the world-famous resort of Courmayeur, the gateway to Mont Blanc.
Otherwise, if you want to access higher altitudes and rugged landscapes, you can combine many of the 28 individual walks described in this book to make a longer trek. An excellent network of manned huts (rifugi) welcome walkers and provide tasty hot meals and sleeping quarters.
Geography and geology
Geographically the area is part of the Graian Alps, the northern part of the western Alps. It was possibly named after the mythical Greek hero Ercole Graio (Hercules), who is believed to have passed through Colle del Piccolo San Bernardo while he was completing his famous 12 labours.
Geologically speaking the Gran Paradiso group started out over 230 million years ago as volcanic material, with a fraction of marine sediments. Tectonic activity led, in fits and starts, to the formation of the Alps during the Tertiary period (about 54 to 57 million years ago), the accompanying heat and pressure responsible for the transformation into metamorphic rock. The Gran Paradiso summit, for instance, is made up of a huge dome of augen-gneiss girdled by calcareous rock, mica-schists and greenstone, to mention a few.
View of Valgrisenche mountains during ascent to Col de la Crosatie (AV2 stage 9)
Of great economic significance to man since pre-Roman times have been the immense mineral deposits, first and foremost the magnetite extracted at Cogne up until 1979 and processed at the Aosta steelworks. The original name of the Valle dell'Orco, the main southern valley, was ‘Eva d'or’ (water of gold) because of the precious minerals in its sands.
A brief historical overview
The area covered in this guide, the Gran Paradiso National Park and its surroundings, straddles two administrative and political regions of Italy -the Valle d'Aosta in the north and Piemonte in the south (often referred to as Piedmont in English).
Historical highlights include the Roman era when the city of Augusta Praetoria, present-day Aosta, was founded in 25BC as an important alpine junction on the Via delle Gallie. The valley was controlled by the Savoys, almost without interruption, from the 11th century up until 1861, when Italy was unified.
Although French was the main language for most of this period and it is still taught and used, Italian is more widely spoken these days. Many local people, however, speak an unusual patois of French-Provençal origin. This includes a wealth of specialised vocabulary for aspects of the natural alpine surroundings connected with the pastoral activities, as persists in place names.
Demographically, the mid-1800s saw a significant growth in population which put a strain on natura resources. This led to seasonal emigration of itinerant tinkers, seed-sellers, chimney sweeps and glaziers from the southern valleys in particular. Later, however, large-scale emigration became permanent and ex-pat communities such as the one in Paris have actually helped preserve the Valle Soana dialect. Contact with home villages is kept up and French number-plates are commonplace in village car parks during the holiday period.
A 1981 census put the permanent population of the Gran Paradiso at 8359, in sharp contrast to the 1881 peak of 20,616. A large number of villages have been abandoned over this period and walkers will find themselves wandering along age-old paths punctuated with votive shrines and passing through long-empty hamlets decorated with intriguing religious frescoes. Higher up, the functional shepherds' huts give a clear picture of now-historic lifestyles.
Today, the Gran Paradiso National Park has a nucleus of 51 rangers (four of whom are women) who spend their time on patrols, carrying out essential wildlife censuses and discouraging poaching. The Park does not have an easy life. Illegal hunting continues, storms frequently require urgent bridge and path maintenance work and, whatever government is in power, funds are cut drastically so that there are never enough staff or facilities.
Some statistics
From its beginning with the royal donation of 2200 hectares, the park today has a total area of 70,000 hectares (700km2). Of this, 10 per cent is wooded, 16.5 per cent used for pasture and agriculture, 24 per cent uncultivated and 40 per cent classified sterile. A total of 57 glaciers of varying dimensions occupy 9.5 per cent. Visitors can observe a wide range of ice-related phenomena: vast rock slabs polished smooth by the passage of some ancient glacier; groups of ‘roches moutonnées’, so called due to their similarity to recumbent sheep; U-shaped valleys crafted by the long-gone ice mass and erratics or huge boulders carried far from their starting place by the glacier into different geological contexts.
Vallon di Bardoney (Walk 2)
The characteristic moraines, usually chaotic ridges of debris transported by the ice and deposited at its sides or front, are useful in determining the history of the area: bare moraine probably dates back to the last mini-ice age, a mere 300 years ago. On average, 5000 years must pass before such a ridge can be colonised by vegetation such as the pioneer mountain avens, after preparatory work by lichens. And trees such as larch or dwarf mountain pine need even longer (15,000 years in all) before the soil is suitable for them to take root.
Naturally the glaciers themselves provide abundant meltwater so the area is rich in water courses, spectacuar waterfalls and dramatic strings of lakes of all shapes and colours. In the 1920s this abundance of water began 16 to attract hydroelectric dam builders, who were given free rein on the southern flanks to provide Torino (Turin) with the power its industries needed. This led to a considerable number of large dams, conduits and power stations, accompanied by clusters of service buildings for maintenance staff.
Valleys and bases
A number of long steep-sided valleys push their way towards the heart of the Gran Paradiso, providing fortuitous access for visitors. Nearly all the valleys are inhabited and have good tourist facilities in the shape of accommodation (hotels, camping grounds and high altitude mountain rifugi- see Accommodation) and tourist information offices. What's more, they can all be reached by public bus (see Local Transport). Beginning in the north and the Valle d'Aosta, minor Valle di Champorcher turns in west from Hône-Bard, gaining height to reach Chardonney, where Alta Via 2 sets out.
Forking south at Aymavilles, close to the regional capital of Aosta, the most important of the valleys is undeniably the Vallon di Cogne and its well-kept settlements. A pasture basin is home to the former mining centre of Cogne, while the sister villages of Lillaz, Valnontey and Gimillan are located a few kilometres away. Tiny Valnontey is arguably the best placed, not far from the Tribolazione glacier and its crown of beautiful peaks. Vallon di Cogne is a key transit point for the Alta Via 2 and the starting point for Walks 1 to 9.
Further west, from Villeneuve, Valsavarenche runs southwards as far as Pont, gateway to the Gran Paradiso mountain itself. With a decent choice of hotels and camping grounds, it makes an excellent base for Walks 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16. Alta Via 2 crosses the valley at Eaux Rousses, another fine place to stay.
Forking off from Valsavarenche at lntrod is quieter Val di Rhêmes, the westernmost confine of the national park. Here the main settlement is Rhêmes-Notre-Dame (including the village of Bruil) which offers a full range of tourist facilities. Alta Via 2 crosses through here. Further up the valley a scattering of hamlets is dominated by the magnificent Granta Parei outcrop. Walks 10 and 14 to 17 can be followed from this valley.
Valgrisenche also leaves the Valle d'Aosta at Villeneuve and is populated with scattered farming hamlets such as Planaval (a staging point for Alta Via 2) and the main village called Valgrisenche. Glaciers occupy the valley head and Walks 17, 18 and 19 can be enjoyed here.
Two more worthwhile valleys are touched on in this northern Valle d'Aosta section. With its junction at Pré-St-Didier, life in Valle di La Thuile centres around the thriving winter ski resort of La Thuile. In summer it can serve as the departure point for the stage of Alta Via 2 which climbs to the magnificent Ruitor glacier.
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